Advertising's Role in LGBT Equality

As an advertising major who aspires to work in the industry, I am often met with disdain and "You're going to brainwash our children." And, to be honest, I can't really blame people for these reactions. The advertising industry has a rich history of manipulating the public into buying a lot of crap they don't need. (See: Any advertisement aimed towards kids.) Sometimes it's scary to consider how much power the advertising agencies and marketing departments have over the population without the population knowing. (See: Any Apple product) But, as an overly-quoted fictional man once said: With great power comes great responsibility.

The responsibility in this case is the equal and fair representation of gay families/couples/individuals. To be clear, equal representation does not mean the forced inclusion of a token gay family in every advertisement so that you can get your ticket into the Progressive Cool Club. It means the sincere portrayal of gay families and gay people as normal human beings. Because, you know, they are. But despite the fact that it's 2014, there are still people that think homosexuals are deviant perverts who are determined to turn your children to their ways. Which I imagine, in the minds of these ignorant individuals, involves a lot of glitter, leather, and Sex and the City marathons. However, extremes aside, there are also people that are merely ignorant towards gay culture, believing the aforementioned stereotypes not out of hatred, but because of the media's depiction of the LGBT community. For years, we have been subjected to news stories about gay pride parades that only depict the most extreme behavior.

Typically looking something like this.

You can understand then that people who aren't exactly privy to the less fringe aspects of gay culture might be put off by the blatant sexuality. So how do you fix the stigma? Ignorance is cured by education. This is a time honored truth right up there with "The Sun is really big" and "Fedoras are for assholes." But a far more important truth to keep in mind is that "Social norms are dictated by media depiction." In other words, wide spread ignorance can only be cured by education if what is being taught is in line with the social norms of the day. And to change the social norms, the media's portrayal of LGBT people must become more prevalent and more honest. This is where advertising comes in. 

Certainly, the news networks carry a heavy responsibility to portray gay people in a positive and honest light, but this does not diminish the role of the advertising industry. Advertisements are everywhere, telling us what to buy, how to dress and where to eat. It's not telling us how to think, per se. Rather, it's influencing our decisions and casting things in a certain light in order to make us more inclined to buy them. This power of influence is precisely why the industry has a duty to portraying gay men and women as normal people. Sure, they may never convince the firm believers that gay people won't snatch their children up in the night, but for the purely ignorant people, it may shed some light on an issue shrouded in body glitter and ABBA songs. 

But credit must be given where credit is due. The advertising industry has already taken steps towards the fair portrayal of the LGBT community. Most recently, Honey Maid released a 30 second advertisement titled "This is Wholesome" that showed a gay couple amongst many others, including an interracial couple. It was harmless, nuanced, and tastefully done.

Obviously, it was cause for uproar and rioting in the YouTube comment sections. But, as I mentioned, you can't change them all, especially not the hateful ones. Honey Maid, knowing this, responded yesterday with another ad. It was beautifully done.

Honey Maid isn't the only company to profess its love for the LGBT community. Earlier this year, Banana Republic released several ads that depicted real life couples modeling their clothing. One of the couples happened to be gay. Chevrolet also put out two advertisements that included gay couples doing normal human things. These ads weren't done with the intention of being provocative nor were they done to throw the idea of equality in your face. They were done merely to integrate the idea of gay families as normal into the minds of the average viewer. This may have been done subtly, but it was certainly intentional and with an agenda in mind. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The agenda of introducing the public to the idea of equality is a step in the right direction for an industry often associated with screaming about Oxyclean. Using its power of subtle influence for good is, while certainly motivated by a cause, a positive change.

That being said, I do not discount the efforts of more overt displays of support. Oreo's pride ad comes to mind.

Even more out in the open are the cause-related advertisements that directly associate themselves with the LGBT community. Recently, this older advertisement from Australia (a country notorious for draconian laws concerning homosexuality) has found its way back on to social media. It's quite lovely. 

So what's my point? Advertising has the ability to come at the issue of LGBT equality from a variety of different angles. It has already made a valiant effort but it's important for it to continue for the sake of ingraining in our minds that homosexuality is akin to normalcy. It's important for kids to see these ads from a young age so that there is never a doubt in their mind that their gay parents are normal or that they themselves are normal. It's important for people who may be isolated in a small town or community that isn't really exposed to gay culture to become aware that gay families can be just as happy and stable as straight families. It's important for everyone to see these advertisements not so that we can write blog posts or rant on talk shows, but so that we can stop talking about it entirely in favor of merely accepting it as a normal part of life. News networks may have the ability to spread awareness about the cause of the LGBT community, but advertisers have the unique ability to spread the normalcy of it. They have the ability to show gay families and people for what they truly are: families and people.